The present invention is an antenna mounting, particularly for use on automobiles, in which the antenna support may be pivoted, in an upright plane, relative to the base, and locked so that the antenna rod is vertical.
In automobile antenna mountings, the antenna rod extends from a base, which is attached to the automobile body. Depending upon where it is mounted, the antenna may not always be upright. It is therefore necessary to provide a means to correct the vertical position of the antenna rod.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,986 discloses one such structure, in which the antenna mount base is adjustable to move the antenna to the proper upright position. In another type of antenna mount, the base itself is fixed, but the antenna is pivotable, in a vertical plane, relative to the base. In such a construction, the base includes a socket and a support plate extending upright from the socket. An antenna support is partially spherical, so as to be receivable in the socket, but has a planar surface portion which abuts the support plate. In such an arrangement, the antenna support, from which the antenna rod extends, is pivotable in the socket, about an axis perpendicular to its planar surface portion.
In this known ball and socket-type mounting, the planar surface portion of the antenna support has a plurality of V-shaped, projecting teeth, arranged annularly about the pivot axis. On the opposing surface of the support plate, a plurality of small projections are formed, also in an annular pattern so that the recesses formed between adjacent projections cooperate with the antenna support to receive the teeth thereof. Thus, the teeth and recesses are arranged to mate, with the ends of the V-shaped teeth received between projections, such that the antenna support may be locked at a selected angular position. After the antenna and antenna support are rotated to the desired angle relative to the socket, the antenna support and support plate are locked together by a screw.
In order to ensure the proper mating of parts, the recesses formed on the flat surface of the support plate must be precisely located relative to the socket and to the pivot axis, so that such recesses are concentric about a common pivot axis and thereby aligned with the teeth of the antenna support. If the recesses are formed off-center, slippage can occur between parts, such that the antenna does not remain upright. Also, where the teeth and recesses are slightly misaligned, excess play or slippage can develop between the antenna support teeth and the base support plate after a period of use. The need for such precision renders the manufacture of such parts more difficult, and the incidence of rejects, where the recesses are formed off-center, is increased.